


Cuddling (Johnlock)

by Rini2012



Series: Steps in Romance (30 Day OTP Challenge) [2]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Beginning Romance, Bisexual John Watson, Confessing Feelings, Cuddling, Deductions, Gay Sherlock Holmes, Johnlock - Freeform, M/M, Steps to Romance series, awkward start to relationship, hospital recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-19 01:13:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13693794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rini2012/pseuds/Rini2012
Summary: Sherlock needs comfort from being in the hospital... what does John do?





	Cuddling (Johnlock)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my new beta reader kimbiablue for helping me out :)

Sherlock had to stay in hospital for a few days as the doctors wanted to keep a close eye on him. When the fire was put out fully, Moriarty and two of his snipers were found dead in the debris. It seemed Sherlock had managed to rid the world of a dangerous threat yet again, but this time it almost cost him his life.

The first night John had to go home to shower and sleep. As he lay in bed, he thought about everything that had happened a mere day before, and what was to come. He felt bad about leaving Sherlock at the hospital if he was honest. They had gotten word that Mycroft would be giving them a briefing of what steps would be taken next in a day or so, and John didn’t want Sherlock to have to face the scolding alone. It was as much his fault as Sherlock’s that they ended up in that situation.

After three hours of lying there with sleep nowhere in sight, John sat on the side of his bed and looked down at his feet. It was amazing that only a few months ago he had been a limping, depressed man with no purpose, and now he was the flatmate of a man with an incredible mind. That first night of them living together had been one of the best nights of his life. True, he had been shut down by Sherlock when John was about to ask him out, but the chase and tracking had well made up for that.

Thing was, the feelings John had never really faded away. He had thought about possibly telling Sherlock that he was bisexual and fancied him, except Sherlock showed absolutely no interest in anyone or anything except the Work. John had tried dating in order to get over Sherlock’s rejection, but no one had grabbed his attention like the detective had. If only John was able to get through Sherlock’s defenses, maybe, just  _ maybe _ , something could happen.

Right before John got up to make some herbal tea, he got a text on his phone. Who the hell would be texting him-? Sherlock, it had to be Sherlock. John took his phone off the charger and as he thought, it was Sherlock. The text read,

_ [Come to hospital. Bored. –SH] _

Not wanting a repeat of the wall incident, John got dressed and got a cab to the hospital. It was around 3 am when he arrived, which meant Sherlock hadn’t slept. John went inside and asked which room Sherlock was in. He had been moved to a different room on the third floor, and when a nurse asked who John was visiting on the elevator, it seemed that the detective had tormented the staff enough that a grimace appeared on the nurse’s face.

On the third floor, John merely had to follow the sound of scathing deductions to find Sherlock’s room. By the time he got there, a woman in scrubs was crying while pushing a computer monitor with her. She must have done something to piss Sherlock off big time if she was in tears. John managed to enter the room without further encounters and saw Sherlock was on his right side toward the door, a look of distaste on his face. John sighed,

“Couldn’t go a day without ripping the staff apart?”

“They’re all idiots.” Sherlock said. “They persist in trying to start conversations with me, discussing topics that don’t even matter.”

John merely sat down in a chair next to Sherlock’s bed.

“They’re trying to be decent human beings to their patients, it’s not a crime to try to be nice.”

“Since when has ‘trying to be nice’ included complimenting me in a way that could only be described as being ‘chatted up’?”

The nurses… hit on Sherlock? True, he was a very attractive man, but that broke lots of medical guidelines and rules. No wonder Sherlock was in such a piss-poor mood.

“You could report it if you’d like.” John offered. “That breaches code of conduct for staff to patients. They could be doing the same thing to other patients.”

“The difference being other patients would be stupid enough to have their confidence boosted by the attempts at flirting.” Sherlock shifted his position so he was on his front. “It truly reveals that someone is shallow and lonely when they’re willing to flirt with their patients.”

Well, John couldn’t argue with that. However, Sherlock could have misinterpreted the compliments as flirting when they were just being nice. John tended to compliment patients at times, but it was strictly in a friendly manner.

For about two hours the two started discussing random topics ranging from deductions of the other staff, to how Sherlock had answered some cases via email on his phone. John started to get a bit drowsy by the end of those two hours and said he was going to go home to sleep, but Sherlock stopped him as he was about to walk out.

“John.”

“Hm?”

“The covers they gave me are rubbish, and at this point I need physical human contact to be comfortable.” Sherlock put down one of the railings on his bed and scooted over. “Come help me warm up.”

John couldn’t help the blush that ran over his cheeks at Sherlock’s request. Sherlock was basically asking to cuddle in his bed. How could he ask that so casually without being embarrassed? This man was an enigma that John couldn’t understand most times. He cleared his throat.

“Why not ask one of the nurses for a heating pad?”

“If I wish to turn over, the bed will be heated in all areas, not simply my own spot.”

John saw something in Sherlock’s eyes that betrayed that line of logic. It was almost… fear. Was Sherlock afraid to be left alone? There were many things Sherlock Holmes was known for: being clever, pissing people off, deducing someone to pieces, but  _ never _ was he afraid. The whole explosion thing must have really shaken him up.

Instead of pointing out that he was lying, John simply took off his coat and shoes and awkwardly got into the bed next to Sherlock. He made sure to face away from his friend so that it would be less awkward. Thing was, he didn’t expect Sherlock to suddenly turn onto his side and rest his front against John’s back. It suddenly made the soldier acutely aware that there was only a flimsy hospital gown separating himself from Sherlock’s body. It wasn’t exactly arousing, just… constant.

They laid there in silence for a few minutes, simply experiencing the moment. It was weird, almost surreal for John. He had never imagined being in a bed (well, hospital bed) with Sherlock for the night. However, Sherlock being Sherlock, had to be blunt and get to the point.

“You seemed to like when I held your hand in the ambulance.” Sherlock observed.

Even when he was in pain, he had observed John’s comfort in that action. No doubt he also deduced how John felt as a whole. John sighed. He might as well not deny it,

“Yeah, I did.”

“And you have been dating women below your standard since you moved in. Even Sarah is more of a good friend rather than a girlfriend. You also haven’t been trying to fully commit to any of the girls you have dated, and all of them have said they were competing with me.” Sherlock wrapped his arms around John lightly. “You are attracted to me.”

John shivered from the sudden contact and the affirmation. He wasn’t surprised that Sherlock had figured it out, but how long he had known would be the important question. If only he could see Sherlock’s face, even if it was covered by the classic Holmes mask.

“How long have you known?”

“Since you asked me about my love life the first night. However, it seems the attraction has grown from physical to emotional since then.”

“Yeah, it has.”

“And you haven’t pursued me since then. Why?”

There were honestly a multitude of reasons why John didn’t ask Sherlock to date, but it was mostly because of the way he acted. He didn’t even react when Molly would flirt with him or ask him on a low-key date. That was the biggest red flag that Sherlock didn’t date.

“You don’t date  _ at all _ , you don’t even like caring about people. I thought you just weren’t interested in relationships, so... I didn’t say anything.”

Sherlock pulled John closer to him, almost possessively.

“Well your assumption was incorrect. I have in fact had romantic relationships in my life, though The Work had overshadowed that need for years.”

John was shocked, to say the least. There’d been no indication in the past that Sherlock would be interested in that kind of thing. The fact that he had even done that in the past was shocking. Sherlock usually acted like that was beneath him in some way.

“And now?”

“Now there is a candidate that I am considering to be my significant other. He helps me immensely with The Work, makes me adhere to my body’s needs for sleep and sustenance, and reprimands me when I have broken a social norm.”

_ He’s… he’s talking about me. _ In his life (or rather the past few years), John hadn’t expected Sherlock to be interested in him. John never thought of himself as anything special. He was an average bloke who had served his country as a doctor, nothing more. Sherlock was a genius beyond his time, socially inept, yes, but cleverer than John could ever be. The question was, what would happen now that they admitted their feelings for each other.

“So… what now?” John asked.

“Well it is fairly obvious you haven’t had a relationship with a man before (or rather a serious one), so we shall start with what people would call ‘seeing each other’. I believe that is when someone is romantically attached to another but instead of officially becoming a couple, they go on dates, share romantic gestures, things of that nature.” Sherlock paused. “Unless my attempt at cuddling is making you uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s fine, it’s all fine.” John held onto Sherlock’s hands with a smile. “Whatever you want it to be, I’m fine with it.”

And he meant that. Sherlock was willing to give a relationship a  _ chance _ . That was incredible in itself. Granted, the circumstances could have been better for them to start dating, but what was their life without a little danger in it?

They fell asleep in peaceful silence.


End file.
